''Pterostylis microglossa'', commonly known as the Kalbarri shell orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

of Western Australia. Non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves flat on the ground but flowering plants lack a rosette and have a flowering stem with leaves and a single green, white and brownish-red flower.

Description

''Pterostylis microglossa'' is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous,

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with an underground tuber. Non-flowering plants have a rosette of more or less round leaves and sometimes the plants form colonies so that the rosette leaves cover an area of several square metres. Flowering plants lack a rosette but have a single green, white and brownish-red flower long and wide on a flowering stem high. There are between four and six leaves long and wide on the flowering stem. The dorsal sepal and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

, the dorsal sepal with a short point. The lateral sepals are held close to the galea and have erect, tips long. The labellum is short but just visible above the sinus between the lateral sepals. Flowering occurs in June and July.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pterostylis microglossa'' was first formally described in 2012 by David Jones and

Christopher French Christopher French could refer to: *Christopher French (theologian) (fl. c. 1650–c.1713), Irish professor of divinity *Chris French (Christopher Charles French) (born 1956), British psychologist *Christopher French (judge) (1925–2003), British ...

from a specimen collected near Kalbarri National Park and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Review''. The species had previously been known as ''Pterostylis'' sp. 'Kalbarri'. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''microglossa'') is derived from the Ancient Greek words ''mikros'' meaning "small" or "little" and ''glossa'' meaning "tongue" referring to the relatively short labellum.

Distribution and habitat

The Kalbarri shell orchid grows in shallow soil on granite outcrops and on consolidated sand dunes between

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

and the Moore River in the Geraldton Sandplains and

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

Conservation

''Pterostylis microglossa'' is listed as "not threatened" by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q29650813

microglossa ''Microglossa'' is a genus of Asian and African flowering plants in the tribe Astereae within the family Asteraceae. ; Species * ''Microglossa afzelii'' O.Hoffm. - central Africa * ''Microglossa caffrorum'' (Less.) Grau - South Africa * ''Microg ...

Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 2012